Review of Qatar Airways flight Doha Washington in Economy

Airline Qatar Airways
Flight QR709
Class Economy
Seat 19K
Aircraft Boeing 777-300ER
Flight time 14:40
Take-off 10 Jun 22, 01:30
Arrival at 10 Jun 22, 09:10
QR   #10 out of 95 Airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings. 623 reviews
ISTFlyer
By SILVER 2195
Published on 26th January 2023

Report No: 2022-602


Dear Flight-Report community, I am backed up with previous Flight-Report's that I've written in 2022 thus I would be start sharing them within regular intervals before I head up with newer 2023 ones which I'm also more excited to share with you.


Dear folks,

Welcome to this new series where I would cover another trip to the US with Qatar Airways. As I had an American Airlines voucher to be used, I booked this trip via American Airlines as flying with BA via London and QR via Doha was the same price when booked through American Airlines, I obviously chose the QR option as QR has better service compared to BA and flying a westbound transatlantic on a red-eye flight would allow me to sleep more easily reducing and almost eliminating jet lag.


The second and last report of this series would be the transatlantic leg of this trip which would be operated by a Qatar Airways 777-300ER after an equipment change from an A350 a few weeks ago from the flight. Before the flight, I was also able to visit the Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Lounge and would cover my dinner as well in this report


The routing for this series would be as following;


Routing


Loads for this flight

Business Class: 95-100%
Economy Class: 85-90% 


DOHA HAMAD AIRPORT - DOH


Since the previous flight from Istanbul has parked to a remote stand, we were dropped off at the East Transfer Security checkpoint and as there was a long wait, airport employees were directing everyone to the West Transfer Security checkpoint which would add a 5 minute walk thus I flashed my boarding pass with my Platinum status and a supervisor has allowed me to use the Premium Line at the East Transfer Security where there was almost no wait.


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After clearing security, I used the elevators to go upstairs to the Al Mourjan Business Lounge which I was entitled to at that time.


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QATAR AIRWAYS AL MOURJAN BUSINESS CLASS LOUNGE - DOHA HAMAD AIRPORT


At that time, I flew this flight, Qatar Airways was continuing their goodwill gesture allowing oneworld Emerald ( Qatar Airways Privilege Club Platinum ) members to the Al Mourjan Lounge since the new Gold and Platinum Lounge's that are open at the present moment were still under construction.

This goodwill gesture was a pretty significant and enjoyable benefit for me as for two years in the pandemic, I benefitted from a better lounge experience even when flying Economy and the lounge made me loyal to Qatar Airways since it improved the transit experience significantly.

However, this was my last occasion using this lounge as an Economy Class passenger since the new Platinum Lounge is open and unless I pay to enter this lounge, I would no longer be admitted to it with my QRPC Platinum status when flying Economy or Business Lite.


Since I only had about 30 minutes to have dinner, I went directly to the restaurant and asked the attendant to write my name on the waiting list since the restaurant was at capacity. Within 2 minutes my name was called and I was invited upstairs to have a table.


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After sitting at my table, it took a while for the server to approach me because it felt that they were understaffed and the servers ignored me when I tried to make eye-contact with them. Once the server approached me, I have ordered some rosé champagne and still water and the rosé champagne arrived within 2 minutes, but there was no sign of the bottle of water.


By the way, since I had limited time, I didn't order anything from the a la carte menu as it would have taken 15-20 minutes for the dishes to be prepared due to the wait at that time whereas I only had 30 minutes in total; thus, I decided to get some food from the buffet.


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Since I ordered sushi at the time when the server first approached me, I reminded the server who brought me the sushi regarding water and then finally, a bottle of water had arrived at my table. While I was enjoying my starter plate a few minutes ago, I tried to create eye contact with the servers but they continued to ignore me.


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Later on, it was time for dessert and I have got a cake and a pudding from the dessert bar and tried again to create eye contact with a server to have something hot with the dessert but again, most of the servers were not even looking at the people and just walking down the aisle looking straight so I didn't have time at all to enjoy a hot drink at Al Mourjan with my desserts.


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To be honest, this wasn't the best Al Mourjan experience that I had but the lackluster of service and the difficulty to get attention of a staff member is quite annoying, especially at a 5* airlines flagship business class lounge.


GATE AREA & BOARDING


About 45 minutes before scheduled departure time, I have left the lounge and walked to our departure gate which was C1.
Eventually, that gate is one of the closest gates to the lounge so I was able to allow some extra time at the lounge.


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While arriving at the gate, my documents were checked and I was directed to the Economy line despite showing my Platinum status twice for the security check at the gate which was also a pity as the Economy line was a bit longer than the Priority Line.


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However, gate security was handled in 5-10 minutes, and I was in the departure lounge. They were boarding Group 2 at the time I entered the gate area.


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At least, I was able to skip the queue this time by showing my Platinum status my the boarding pass, so that I could ensure I had space at the overhead bins for my carry-on.


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QR 709 DOHA HAMAD AIRPORT TO WASHINGTON DULLES AIRPORT


After being welcomed by the crew, I have headed to my seat 19K for this flight.


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On the seat, a pillow, a blanket, an amenity kit, a protective kit including masks, disinfectant gel and gloves, plus headsets were present.


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To be honest, the legroom is quite good on these aircraft.


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There is a USB port under the screen as well as a power outlet underneath the seats.


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In addition, there are individual air nozzles over every seat which is a great feature to adjust the flow of air towards me. Some airlines prefer not to include this feature on their wide body aircraft and I am glad that Qatar Airways aircraft have them.


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This Boeing 777-300ER is one of the older ones of the Qatar Airways fleet, thus, it was equipped with the older version of the Panasonic IFE system. However, still a decent amount of content was loaded into the system and it didn't have limited choices as my previous IST-DOH flight on the leased 777-300ER's had.


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Here is the menu of the IFE system


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Boarding ended a bit later than it was supposed to be and some passengers were angry as they have paid for an extra legroom seat and they found themselves at a regular row; as well as there were parties with multiple people paying for seats and getting separated. ( These were passenger claims directed towards the crew ). However, the crew was professional in this situation and was able to solve the problem. At that time, there were also seat swaps going and in the end, the seat next to me remained vacant which is something great for a 14 hour flight.


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After boarding was complete, the safety video was monitored from the personal screens.


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And, we have started to push back


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While taxiing to the runway, it was time for plane spotting. Most aircraft that I spotted was a Qatar Airways aircraft as expected.


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However, I was also able to spot a Middle Eastern Airways A321neo heading to Beirut that night.


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As well as a Nepal Airlines A330 and a Turkish Airlines A321


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Also not to skip the grounded Qatar Airways A350 aircraft parked near the Emiri terminal


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After a short taxi, it was time for us to take off for a long transatlantic flight to Washington Dulles Airport.


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While departing an advertisement about the Super Wi-Fi service was screened from personal monitors.


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Since Qatar Airways asks for a fix price for this service on all of their flights having this service and as $10 for 14 hours is a decent value, I have purchased the Full Flight option onboard this flight.

However, if I didn't purchase Wi-Fi, I would still had 1 hour free access because of being a Qatar Airways Privilege Club member.


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After takeoff we have headed westbound over Saudi Arabia and at that time the cabin crew in charge of my row, introduced herself and greeted me because of my status. She told that the meal service would start shortly but didn't ask my preference anytime before the cart arrived at my row.


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Dinner was served about an hour after takeoff where there were three options which were beef, chicken and vegetarian. I have opted for the beef option which was served with a noodle salad, a dessert, bottle of water, infused bread and a choice of drink. I have asked for butter which was also promptly served.


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As a disclaimer, I remembered taking a picture after having a few bites from the meat so the actual portion was larger than below.


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After the meal service, I have asked for a green tea and a cup of water; however, the green tea never arrived back from the galley for the next 30 minutes, so then I decided to go for sleep.


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I have waken up with the mid-flight service and regardless of my choice, I was straightly handed the vegetarian option and the crew serving ( this time a different attendant ) straight went to ask for a choice of drink. 


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At that time we were over the North Sea and 55% of the flight was already in the past.


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At that time, I decided to visit the lavatory which wasn't at perfect condition but still clean.


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As you could notice, a rude passenger has left his empty bottle of water at the lavatory next to the sink instead of throwing to the trash cans.


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Then, I went to sleep one more time and woke up just before the breakfast service was supposed to begin. Similar to the first two services, none of the crew members asked me about my choice before starting the meal service, and despite that, all three choices were available when the trolley came to my row.


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For this meal service, the tray came with the main course, a fruit plate, a fruit yoghurt, a croissant, a bottle of water and a strawberry jam. I have requested butter for the croissant which was promptly served.


Also while I was writing this report, I realized that it would be on the spot to appreciate Qatar Airways since during their meal services, they heat the bread/croissant even in Economy Class, while some other carriers like British Airways wouldn't even budge to heat bread in their premium cabins.


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I don't remember the exact options but I have opted for the frittata option this time, which was served with spinach, a chicken sausage, and potatoes


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With the meal service, my choices of drinks were also promptly served.


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After enjoying the meal, while my tray was collected, I asked for another cup of tea, which was promptly served.


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About a few minutes later, we have started preparations for our descent so I have opened my window blind.
As a reference, neither the crew serving my area, nor the cabin supervisor came for the goodbye and thank you greeting before landing so I wasn't able to express my opinions about the service level and some other issues that happened on this flight.


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While descending I was able to take a photo of this United 737-700 just departed Washington Dulles bound to St. Thomas, USVI.


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Washington Dulles Airport from the air


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An Emirates A380 had arrived just before us and at that time I hoped that this wouldn't affect the queues at the immigration hall.


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Making an U-turn at the air so that we could land according to the landing pattern at that time where landings were handled northwards.


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And we have landed ahead of schedule.


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My spotting at IAD started with the private jets near the General Aviation terminal


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The Main Saarinen Terminal which had no aircraft attached at that time


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Air India 787-8 parked at the gate waiting for its flight to Delhi as AI 104.


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And we were going to park at gate A23/A25


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And when the seatbelt signs have switched off, everyone rose up while the crew closed the curtain between Business Class and Economy Class.


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WASHINGTON DULLES AIRPORT - IAD


Once all Business Class passengers disembarked it was our turn and after saying goodbye to the crew, it was time to leave the aircraft and head to the moon buggy taking us to the immigration hall.


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A last view of A7-BAC which I rode for the second time; if you wonder when did I rode this aircraft for the first time you could find the respective Flight-Report here of that specific flight.


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Despite an Emirates A380 arriving a few minutes before us, the immigration hall was empty, where there was no wait at all which was a pleasant experience since IAD immigration queues could get horrible sometimes leading to waits of multiple hours.


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Then I left the airport with the 5A bus to the city center and the journey has came to an end.

Thanks for reading this report and hope you enjoyed it.
Hope to see you at the next Flight-Report.

See more

Verdict

Qatar Airways

8.8/10
Cabin9.0
Cabin crew7.5
Entertainment/wifi9.0
Meal/catering9.5

Qatar Airways Al Mourjan South Lounge

8.4/10
Comfort9.5
Meal/catering9.5
Entertainment/wifi8.5
Services6.0

Doha - DOH

8.0/10
Efficiency8.5
Access8.5
Services7.5
Cleanliness7.5

Washington - IAD

8.1/10
Efficiency8.5
Access8.0
Services8.0
Cleanliness8.0

Conclusion

While the flight itself wasn't the best experience that I had with Qatar Airways, it was smooth and the service could be better as the crew wasn't too attentive with small details compared to my previous Qatar Airways flights. It was also nice to visit the Al Mourjan Lounge on an Economy ticket with status ( which is no longer the case ) but the service at the lounge was under my expectations for that specific day. Since this trip was pre-World Cup, there were lot of new ground staff as well as cabin crew which I'll relate to this issue but for the hard product, Qatar Airways is likely not to disappoint.

Information on the route Doha (DOH) Washington (IAD)

Les contributeurs de Flight-Report ont posté 3 avis concernant 1 compagnies sur la ligne Doha (DOH) → Washington (IAD).


Useful

La compagnie qui obtient la meilleure moyenne est Qatar Airways avec 8.3/10.

La durée moyenne des vols est de 14 heures et 23 minutes.

  More information

4 Comments

If you liked this review or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post a comment below !
  • Comment 619965 by
    Pilpintu TEAM 997 Comments
    Hello, ISTFLYER!

    I am backed up with previous Flight-Report's that I've written in 2022

    That's great news! We're looking forward to them!

    Qatar Airways was continuing their goodwill gesture

    They are nice people at Qatar Airways, aren't they?

    the lackluster of service and the difficulty to get attention of a staff member

    Too bad. I wonder what happened here. Even at my local zero-star ZAL restaurant the waitress asked me if my sandwich needed more ketchup!

    On the seat, a pillow, a blanket, an amenity kit, a protective kit including masks, disinfectant gel and gloves, plus headsets were present.

    Now I start to see what you mean "QR has better service compared to BA"

    However, the crew was professional in this situation and was able to solve the problem.

    Excellent! Another sign of good service in spite of the legroom problem.

    they heat the bread/croissant even in Economy Class

    Remarkable.

    I think you made the right choice by choosing QR. I'm sold to it! Thank you very much for sharing. Can't wait to see that backlog!
    • Comment 620006 by
      ISTFlyer SILVER AUTHOR 399 Comments
      Hi Pilpintu and thanks for your kind comment,

      That's great news! We're looking forward to them!

      - More would certainly come, and more should be coming in 2023 on some future flights that I'll take which are on different carriers on different aircraft.

      They are nice people at Qatar Airways, aren't they?

      - Not anymore though, that goodwill gesture was over a few days after my flight

      Too bad. I wonder what happened here. Even at my local zero-star ZAL restaurant the waitress asked me if my sandwich needed more ketchup!

      - At that time, there were many new staff that has been recently hired due to the World Cup and I assume new and not-enough-trained staff was the issue but empty tables were filled immediately so the restaurant was at capacity.

      Now I start to see what you mean "QR has better service compared to BA"

      - Hahahaha! Exactly, on a BA flight that I have taken in the last few months, there weren't enough blankets for everyone on a red-eye long-haul flight, let aside no amenity kit.

      Remarkable

      - Yes, I agree that is remarkable, TK also serves bread heated in Economy and some carriers, don't even heat bread in their premium cabins even in the case they are pre-frozen.

      I think you made the right choice by choosing QR. I'm sold to it! Thank you very much for sharing. Can't wait to see that backlog!

      - I certainly did, however, their current fares doesn't justify flying them on transatlantic journeys as now they ask about twice of the price what other carriers are asking; as well as ex-TR Oneworld Flights to North America are now part of the Atlantic Joint Business agreement so AA stopped selling flights with QR transatlantic segments ex-Türkiye.

      A new report should come pretty soon.😀
      Thanks for stopping by
  • Comment 620035 by
    KévinDC TEAM SILVER 6668 Comments
    Wow the Al Mourjan Business lounge is really nice, too bad Emeralds will soon lose access, though I'm excited to read about the new lounge once it's open. I often hear great things about the Al Safwa First Class lounge, but the Al Mourjan lounge is certainly upscale for a Business lounge.

    Within 2 minutes my name was called and I was invited upstairs to have a table.

    Oh good, I guess that's one of the downsides of everyone with high status being admitted to this lounge during construction of the Platinum lounge, having to wait for a table. Good thing it was quick!

    Some airlines prefer not to include this feature on their wide body aircraft and I am glad that Qatar Airways aircraft have them.

    Me too! I really don't like it when there's no option of adjusting airflow. I often have it off, but I like air during boarding as I'm usually hot from running around the airport and dealing with a 3-year-old haha.

    $10 for full flight wi-fi is a great price! Especially on a 14h+ flight! I'm so used to paying more than $20 just for TATLs. Also 2 full meals and a hot fresh snack mid-flight is about as good as it gets on a flight of similar length in Y anymore.

    Thanks for sharing!
    • Comment 620079 by
      ISTFlyer SILVER AUTHOR 399 Comments
      Hi Kévin and it's nice to see you here as well!

      Wow the Al Mourjan Business lounge is really nice, too bad Emeralds will soon lose access, though I'm excited to read about the new lounge once it's open. I often hear great things about the Al Safwa First Class lounge, but the Al Mourjan lounge is certainly upscale for a Business lounge.


      - Emeralds have already lost access due to the opening of the Platinum Lounge back a few days after this flight, I have visited that lounge on another occasion, thus I would go ahead and share a report for that flight in the upcoming weeks. However, to admit, it's a really decent Emerald Lounge. Also agree on your Al Safwa / Al Mourjan comment, they are both upscale compared to competitors. ( Cough to US/EU carriers )

      Oh good, I guess that's one of the downsides of everyone with high status being admitted to this lounge during construction of the Platinum lounge, having to wait for a table. Good thing it was quick!


      - And luckily, they have opened a second Al Mourjan just before the World Cup which I assume that helps reducing the crowding.

      Me too! I really don't like it when there's no option of adjusting airflow. I often have it off, but I like air during boarding as I'm usually hot from running around the airport and dealing with a 3-year-old haha.


      - Hahaha! Yes, life could be difficult at the airport with a 3-year-old. Personally, I don't sleep with air-conditioning so I usually close it during the flight but it's pretty useful during boarding.

      $10 for full flight wi-fi is a great price! Especially on a 14h+ flight! I'm so used to paying more than $20 just for TATLs. Also 2 full meals and a hot fresh snack mid-flight is about as good as it gets on a flight of similar length in Y anymore.


      - Indeed, will take a similar length flight on an European carrier next week so will probably miss this service on Qatar.

      Thanks for sharing!


      - You're most welcome

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